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Miguel Navarro enjoys three-dimensional climbing in the Trebena area of Geyikbayiri, Turkey, Geyikbayiri is Turkey’s largest sport climbing area with over 1300 routes divided over 47 sectors, all within walking distance of the camping. Read more http://tiletozo.tumblr.com/post/155995771804 ...

alansupahtramp: Those who climb together stay together I don’t want a GF alpineminded: Anything is possible with the right mindset. Trust yourself and know your own capabilities. Read more http://just-climb-without-limits.tumblr.com/post/153226431902 alansupahtramp: Matth...

Chamonix Valley and the nearbyvalleys inSwitzerland and Italy offer some of the best ice climbing in the region. Only Cogne in Italy has more that 130 ice routes on some of the fines ice falls. We organise 3-day and 5-day courses for those who never ice climbed before or for those who have some pr...

Fingers crossed for a send today! Already missing those beautiful days climbing outside in Colorado. But now it’s time to stay focused and pack in some hours at the gym! I’ve really been starting to notice the improvements the @whitepineathletics training has made to my climbing. claire-bukows...

Fun boulders @rockcityclimb tonight in Hull Fun boulder session two days ago @dynochrom_frankfurt ☺ I had a good time with @fabi__dem figuring out this red boulder problem with my super elegant exit in the end Fun boulder session two days ago @dynochrom_frankfurt ☺ I had a good time with @fabi__dem figuring out this red boulder problem...

I had so much fun this evening. I haven’t been climbing or bouldering for a good couple of years, so it was enjoyable to be back. Can’t wait to start making improvements again ☺️ I had an awesome day, with an awesome family! This little one had some strength and courage hidden deep within! So beautiful to watch the fears dissolve into confi...

James Metzger on ‘Green Traverse V6/f7A’ at Stanage a few weeks ago, he stuck that move a few times but doing it in sequence is the real struggle. Even after it’s still quite easy to drop, seen a few people celebrate a bit too early on the final holds. We managed to jump over to The Roaches today with the great weather. It was as rammed as if it...

Wow what an incredible week, moved into the new place in Hurricane with @lemurhead & @carryingthesun two of the best roomies a guy could ask for! I now live 5 minutes from the hurricave which is our new gym apparently! Took turns working out cliff dweller with @carryingthesun and got some incredible shots, we shall see who gets it first A g...

You'll never work a day in your life if you love your job! This is a 3 day @mtntraining Rock Climbing Instructor course. During the 3 days you'll be taught everything you need to know to becoming a qualified Rock Climbing Instructor. All you have to do after the course is to practice everything you've learned and come back for a 2 day assessm...

DYNO DAY - this time I got all the way up! #climbing #climbingwall #girlswhoclimb #bouldering #dyno #jump Du bon bloc comme j’aime ça Drove to Boulder Canyon on Saturday to see the falls before the snow came #waterfall #waterfallsofcolorado #boulder #bouldercanyon #shorthike Driving to fort William... long day with my good mate can't wait to climb ...

Bouldering Site Map

9a by Joe Kinder in Rifle

Isabelle Faus has done her second V14 with a repeat of Daniel Woods’ RMNP mega rig, The Wheel of Chaos. Clocking in at 10k feet of elevation, and a massive hike to the boulder, just working the problem requires commitment.

Charles "Mowgli" Albert, who stopped using climbing shoes four years ago, has done Gecko Assis 8B+. Previoulsy he has done one 8C, which he thinks is 8B+ without shoes. He has also done a direct version of Le pied à coulisse, originally an 8C+, for which he also suggested 8B+ if done barefoot. Interestingly, with shoes his direct version is at least a 9A. The 20-year-old has said that the biggest problem with climbing without shoes is that you have to rest more in order for toe skin to recover.

Bend, OR

It’s taken years but we’ve finally made it! Oregon has been on our list forever…yes, that’s a long time, they say patience is a virtue. As we were pondering our ongoing mission to get to Oregon earlier this summer, our friend Casey began telling us all about the amazing white water around his home of Bend, OR. We then realized Smith Rock, a climbing area loved by many, was right next door. Climbing and boating in one area! Our mission to get to Oregon suddenly became more specific.

We have now recently arrived in Bend and are already filling our days with adventure. Casey has been introducing us to some of his favorite places and friends in the area.

The Deschutes River flows north through the heart of Bend.

So far dogs have been allowed in all the parks and land we’ve visited…usually requiring a leash. Zion is just stoked to get to swim again!

Casey helped us look for trailer spots. BLM is usually good for cheap/free off the grid camping. Most of the roads we found were not trailer friendly.

These wild guys, Casey and Tim, took us on our first Deschutes river trip (SEE VIDEO). “It’ll be fine!” They said. “It’s low water!” They said. Sean and I ran together in a small raft following our friends who have done many laps down Meadow Camp, class IV. We had one close call…it had to do with a ‘room of doom’ and a quick high side. Requiring me to push a little outside of my comfort zone it turned out to be a lot of fun and totally deserved a beer after. Huge thanks to our guides for showing us the way!!

Casey introduced us to one of the many Breweries in town, GoodLife Brewing Company. He recommended their jalapeno poppers with a sampler….I loved the Sweet As Pacific Ale. What a perfect beer to top off a week of new places, friends and adventure…it’s such a Good Life!

BISHOP, CA (3 months)

After finishing my third nursing contract in Ventura, CA we were ready for some serious rock climbing. Bishop was calling to us…maybe even screaming at us to get our butts out there. It had been too long since we visited. The plan was to stay for a two week-ish climbing vacation while we were trying to decide on our next location.

Full moon long exposure the night we arrived in Bishop.

The locations of available jobs weren’t looking promising which meant there would be a lot of compromise. Then I miraculously got a job as a travel nurse at the local ER…the stars had aligned even better than we imagined. We were ecstatic to get to actually spend some time in this gorgeous land we’d only made short trips in the past. We were only a week into our first dry-camping stent when I got the job offer. We had been staying at Pleasant Valley Pit which is a favorite amongst climbers who are willing to spend $2/night. After much discussion and pricing out various long term RV parks we decided to “rough it” for the next 13 weeks. The Pit had a 60 day limit so that would cover two thirds of our commitment. Later we discovered Horton Creek Campground which had an option to buy a long-term pass at $100 for one month.

Pleasant Valley Pit, Bishop California.

Dry camping (camping without hookups) was quite the adjustment. It was all fun when we were on “vacation” but now I was days away from working full-time at a job that definitely required a regular showering schedule. Suddenly we were scrambling, trying to figure out how to manage our resources. How/where to get water? How much water lasts how long? What do we do with the grey water? How often will we have to dump black water? What are our alternatives? And then there’s the electricity…How much solar do we need? Can we get away with not using the generator? How often will we go through propane? SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!

Trying to navigate the new life challenge of dry camping.

We found quite a lot of free water springs with hand pumps around the area. Our favorite was at the Forest Service station on Main st in Bishop until we moved to Horton Creek which had multiple water spigots onsite. We easily adapted to water use, limiting it to as little as reasonably possible. The awesome part was we knew we were doing our part to seriously conserve water while still feeling clean and comfortable.

For the water we ended up getting two 6 gallon jugs to fill our fresh water and one 5 gallon Igloo for our drinking water.

Our camp host informed us that dumping grey water within the BLM campground was allowed…perfect, that problem solved (note: dump grey water as far away from everyone as possible…).

The Pit and Horton Creek campground had clean out houses that we used as much as possible. Of course there were many cold nights or mornings that I used our toilet- the benefits of trailer life. We ended up having to dump about once a month. (note: Horton Creek also has a dump station onsite for $5/use).

Filling up my drinking water.

As for electricity….we could not run the generator at PV Pit. Or at least not with peace of mind. Extreme wind would drown out it’s noise but other than that you could hear it for, what seemed like, miles across the piercing silence of the high desert. Last thing we wanted to do was disturb the surrounding campers. We mostly depended on the solar panel and two 6 volt batteries which provided plenty of light, phone charging and heater running (in combo with propane) but nothing extra. For outlet plugins to charge computers Sean would frequent the coffee shops, getting work done and saving our hotspot gigs! Immediately realizing we needed more solar we are currently working on getting just that. Having the option to be quiet and use less fossil fuels while living off the grid makes sense to our lifestyle. Solar is amazing!

Power Practical’s Luminoodle showering us with a little extra light.

We always found something to do even though we were dry camping.

13 weeks flew by. We were endlessly entertained by all of the world class climbing Bishop and it’s surrounding areas had to offer.

Sean sending Seven Spanish Angels, V6, Buttermilks

Geneva sending The Hunk, V3, Buttermilks

When it got too hot we just recreated at higher elevation. We climbed, hiked, explored, found ancient ruins, played in hot springs, rivers and lakes, attended Mule Days and made friends from all over the world.

Geneva navigating her way across the creek at the Rock Creek climbing area.

Dropping into one of the craziest approaches. Middle Owens River Gorge

Wild Willy’s hot springs. We’d never seen it so busy but it was a holiday weekend.

Zion got a lot of water time and loved every second. Most of the water was too cold for leisure swimming.

Petroglyphs. We had so much fun hiking around while trying to find this sacred spot.

If you love Mules, go to Mule Days.

We met so many interesting people excited to share their stories, wisdom and beer.

Steve and his old lady dog, Oola were our neighbors at the Pit and Horton Creek Campground. Steve had some hilarious climbing stories.

I was perpetually awestruck by the billowing thunder clouds that would climb over the Eastern Sierras. Sometimes they would linger other times the wind would send them on their way. These were some of the most beautiful storms I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing.

Looking East at the White Mountains.

Camping out below the Eastern Sierras.

Because of this, like Death Valley, Bishop and its surrounding areas had amazing flower blooms this spring. The vibrant spring flowers of yellow, purple, blue and every color in between painted the otherwise plain looking earth. Spring in Bishop was breathtaking- to say the least.

Wild flowers bloom in Inyo County.

Yellow wild flower

Vibrant orange flowers popping up everywhere.

Look closely at the desert floor to find brilliant tiny flowers.

Even the cacti were blooming!

Horton Creek Campground opened May 1st which got us out of PV Pit at almost exactly 60 days. It was perfect timing for the weather too. The heat climbed through May, fortunately we landed one of the few spots with a tree and as the name hints…there is a nice cold creek that runs along the east side of the whole campground. The road to our new spot was much gentler on our Prius as well. Unlike the rough washboard road at PV Pit, this road was paved to easily drivable dirt which made the commute much better.

WHERE I WORKED:

-This is a 25 bed critical access hospital. The ER is 8 beds and in a new building.

-Extremely welcoming and friendly staff.

-My experience here was that most patients were Urgent care or clinic type patients due to the lack of resources in such a small county. Of course there was the occasional trauma from MVAs, ATVs, horses, climbing and other outdoor activities. Anything serious flies…I think I only admitted 2 or 3 patients during my contract. I loved the new experience of working in such a small hospital.

Rapping through a portal into another world…or the golden cathedral, whichever you prefer Adam Ondra did the FA of Change 9b+ exactly four years ago in Flatanger and indeed it changed the scene. Flatanger has since become one of the most famous crags in the world and it is also the crag with the most hard core routes in the world. For Adam it has become like his second home and he has put up eleven 9a and harder routes in this extraordinary beautiful climbing paradise. Here is the short video from Petr Pavlíček that will make you scream almost as loud as Adam does failing and doing the 8B+ Boulder captured in the picture. Full length video available here.

Piotr Schab has had some nice weeks in Baltzola, where he has ticked two 8c+s, onsighted Nuska 8c and done XL 9a. "The longest route I've ever done with 165 moves and 38 clips :) No hard moves!! Does there exist a route with more than 38 clips? The 20 year old Pole is #5 in the 8a ranking game.

The WideBoyz, Pete Whittaker and Tom Randall, are in the USA to project a potential 9a+ mono roof crack but as it has been wet, they have done four FAs up to 8b+ in the meanwhile. In the video they talk about searching for new projects out in the desert.

Joe Kinder, who did his last 9a over three years ago, has done his sixth by Planet Garbage in Rifle. "A route I bolted in 2013. Tried the 9a exit last year and loved it. Returned this June and couldn't take it seriously due to its wetness and my fitness. I came home, trained and returned. Completed it in my two week allotment. Stoked as fuck."

Stefano Ghisolfi, currently #4 in the Lead World Cup, has done Jungle Boogie 9a+ in Céüse after ten days of projecting. In the 8a ranking game, the Italian is #3. (c) Paolo Sartori "3rd ascent after Adam and Sachi, hard 9a+, much harder than Biographie, but totally different style. I tried it for 10 days and after the second I could do all the moves. But there is a really hard crux crossing to a 2 finger pocket and I fell there a lot of time. Once I passed that move I went to the top. The route is about 20/25 moves with no rest, and then a 15 meters slab. Beside Jungle Boogie, there are three more 9a+s in Céüse; Three Degrees of Separation, Realization and L'étrange ivresse des lenteurs.

Adam Ondra has done Robin Úd in Alternativa Stena, which was his seventh 9b FA, not counting his three 9b+ FAs. "4 days of work this year, 1 day in 2014. Ultra athlethic climbing in the cave - 30 moves of hard climbing." The double world champion from 2014, who got one gold and one silver in the World Championships 2016, did also onsight his 18th 8c+, C'est la vie. "So happy to have waited for the moment and onsight this legendary route!" The day before he did his 120th 9a or harder by Jungfrau Marathon in Gimmelwald, "Such a bummer not to have onsighted this one! Messed up the sequence so badly and continued to the top straight after the fall. Then sent the following morning in the full sun." Here are some stats showing the superiority of the 23-year-old. # of 9bs and harder in comparison with runner up: 15 versus 8 (Sharma) # of 8c+s and harder onsight: 21 versus 2 (Megos) Next stop is Yosemite, where he might have a go on the Dawn Wall!

Hey Steph! I’ll try and keep the fan-girling to a minimum but I can’t help myself. Aside from being an incredible and self-motivated athlete, you’re an all around badass. You live life on your own terms and I really value that. I try to never lose sight of how important that is. Having said all of that, I want to ask how you made the move to quit law school.

I spent six months roaming around the country, living in my car and jumping from crag to crag. I ended up living at the Red for two months, and now I live in an apartment in Virginia. I go to school in Washington DC. I don’t think I’m adjusting too well.

I’m trying hard to be okay with this. Some days aren’t so bad and sometimes I’m even interested in what I’m learning, but most days I feel so lost here. I’ve literally cried in the library because I feel so disconnected. I don’t mean to pour my heart out to you, but you were ballsy enough to call it and quit school.

I guess I’m just wondering what made you think about quitting and what broke the camel’s back.

I think its rad that you’re down to connect with whoever comes across here and I know for sure that you’re busy doing really awesome stuff, but if you get a minute to drop a line my way, it’d mean a lot. Plus it’d be really dope to know that I got a chance to actually talk to you. -Sandy

Hi Sandy, I’m sorry to hear you’re in a bad place–I know how that is. It’s always hard to give advice to people about this kind of decision–stick it out or break loose. I don’t think there is a simple answer. I joke about it now, but the truth is it was really terrifying and really hard when I made the decision to cut away from my academic life (after finishing my Master’s degree and doing 5 days of law school…). I often make huge life choices very quickly, based on my feelings, and they haven’t steered me wrong so far. I had major doubts from the moment I decided to enroll in law school, and over the first days of classes the feeling that I was doing the wrong thing got more and more powerful until I literally had no choice but to bail.

I truly had no idea what I’d end up doing, and I was pretty scared about what I decided to do, which was live in my car and wait tables. It was also really frustrating sometimes working in a restaurant after I’d been teaching college writing as a teaching assistant, because I didn’t get a lot of respect as a waitress and I had no control over my schedule–if I was told to come in at 3 pm and roll silverware or vacuum, knowing I’d be paid $2/hour until I got my first table at 6 pm, I had to do it. I was super broke and made buying choices like a bag of flour instead of tortillas (I’d roll out my own on a square of plywood). Rest days were also tough because I had time to wonder what I was doing with my life and also get a little bored sometimes, feeling unproductive and wishing I had some work I could do on my own time, as I’d done when I was in school. But, the freedom I had to go climbing and to just spend time in places I wanted to be was worth all of the downsides, to me at that time. My life still is pretty nontraditional. I have a lot of control over my schedule and the work I do, but the flipside is that I literally never clock out, and I’m extremely busy all the time juggling a lot of different balls in the air. As a freelancer of any type, you never leave the office and you have to constantly hustle and do everything yourself, from creative work to accounting, which can be overwhelming at times. But, the freedom I have is worth it to me.

I generally think it’s a good idea to keep as many options open for yourself as possible (i.e., take a break from school at the end of a semester rather than in the middle of one), unless your feelings are so powerful that you have no choice but to follow them. I kind of struggle with my beliefs about following your passion (which I definitely believe in!!) versus making careful decisions so you don’t lose your freedom by being totally broke. My solution to this dilemma has been to keep my overhead low, stay out of debt, and value time over possessions. That’s why I liked living in my car–extremely low overhead.

Being completely miserable is never a good option. The final straw for me with law school was that I didn’t enjoy the classes at all (I loved school when I was a grad student). I’d almost chosen to go for a PhD in American Studies (which I probably would have liked better, but during my Master’s I’d figured out that getting a PhD in humanities would probably lead to a rat race of assistant professorships in places like Oklahoma, and that just wouldn’t have worked), and I quickly realized that I was more interested in the human stories and motivations behind the cases we were discussing than preparing myself to work in a law firm. I was only going because I’d scored well on the LSATs, I didn’t know what else to do, and I thought it might be a “good” career that I’d be happy with 5 years in the future. And then I realized that I actually had no idea what I’d want to be doing in 5 years, or even if I’d still be here in 5 years, and it didn’t make any sense to be miserable right now for something I didn’t even know if I’d want later. This is kind of the antithesis of having a 5 year plan, but it’s how I see things–who knows what you’ll want to do in 5 years! Personally, I think people who are smart with computers and language should learn coding, because you can work from anywhere and there’s seemingly endless demand for those skills.

These kind of choices are very big and very personal. Life is short, but it’s also long, so you need to listen to your heart and to your head. What I know for myself, is that if I don’t have passion for something I’m not going to have the dedication to stick it out when things get really hard or frustrating, which they do a lot. If I’m passionate about something, I know I’ll never give up and I’ll work as hard as possible for as long as it takes to succeed at it. I also know that freedom is my top priority, closely followed by security, so they both have to be considered. And that’s why I have to follow my heart first, but my head a close second. Steph

‘Wow! A lifetime would not be enough to climb all the rock in this place!!’ – that was my thought when I first arrived in Asturias, a region in the North-West of Spain, in June this year. I have now just come back from a second trip, and I want more already!!! My love affair … Continue reading Climbing in Northern Spain: Destination guide→